Understanding Diminishing Returns

[Satrina]

It is a difficult choice that you do have to make, certainly. You have to choose an audience for your article and write to them. For example:

http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f63/4...ns-armour.html - Here I am trying to explain the concept to anyone who comes along, regardless of how proficient they are with math. The examples are simple and I have tried to present the formula in as simple a form as possible. That article has the fewest replies for the number of views it has, and none of them are actually looking for clarification. If you go back to when I initially wrote it in 2005, it is still one of the things I get almost no messages (PM or email) about. Was I successful? I think so.

However, you can note that I have failed my own test in that article - I use the word asymptote, even though it is a link to the definition of the word. More people will know what linear means than asymptote Quite possibly, people may not understand empirical, too! This is the sort of thing that I end up revisiting and clarifying later.

Anyway, compare that to http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f111/...urns-math.html This article says exactly the same thing as the other, but it is aimed at an audience with a much higher level of knowledge. (And even so, I have edited it several times for clarity!)

I would suggest that if you are discussing regression in your article, you've already chosen your target

[lyd]

haha, i was going to hit you back for using "asymptomatic" after giving me guff for using "obfuscatory." no matter. I think the necessary points have been made.

[Satorri]

Vene, you are right of course, but the problem is you can say it very simply:

Avoidance chance (percentage) values gained per point of rating decreases as your rating increases. However, the effect avoidance has on your overall survival increases consistently with each point, so 10 avoidance rating has the same value if you have 20 rating already, or 300 rating.

But that's been said over and over and over, and people still keep coming back with "zomg avoidance sucks, it diminishes!!! That means once you have some it's worthless to get more!!"

Enter: my shot at the in between. =) For both good and ill, it's another shot in the dark, but maybe not a very accurate one.